I will be fair with this movie. Even though it's one of my more beloved movies I would watch when I was a kid, I will admit that the movie's not the best. Shoddy animation and inconsistent character designs (Princess Oriana, for example, looks like she belongs in a different movie altogether.) go hand-in-hand with hauntingly beautiful music and rather clever ideas that, for lack of a better term, are pretty bizarre. Especially keep an eye out for Wack, a reptilian ringleader with a lisp and a sentient scepter armed with a long tongue.
The movie starts out alright. Introducing almost all of the cast right from the get-go and immediately presenting the beautiful world of Oriana captures the audience's attention very quickly. In just thirty minutes, the viewer watches a Felix explores a mine, enters another dimension, escapes a giant shark/manta ray monster, travels through a swamp, and gets captured and placed as an attraction for a circus. There's more attention to detail in the first half than in the second half of the movie. Strangely enough, the ringleader Wack has a lot more show time and personality than the main villain himself. The escape from the circus is more thrilling than the final battle against the Duke of Zill.
Sadly, this movie has a very strange case of misplaced climax. Once Wack's circus is destroyed, the movie really seems to slow down. It almost feels like the movie makers were setting up for a very complicated final showdown against the Duke of Zill, only to find out that the deadline they had to meet was a lot sooner than they realized. You watch as Felix builds acquaintances with characters like the Mizzards and Tim, only to see them rendered useless in the later scenes. (Especially with the Mizzards, who disappear into a suitcase and "conveniently" show up five minutes before the credits) Instead of actually fighting the Duke of Zill, Felix throws a book at one of the Duke's strongest robots to "conveniently" destroy the entire army and the Duke of Zill "conveniently" disappears with a "I'll be back". If you look closely, you can even see some animations from the previous act cycled to fill in for lost time.
It's a good movie, but for limited audiences. If you love Felix, by all means, buy the movie for you or for your children. Few people aside from children, people who grew up with the film, or avid fans of Felix will enjoy this movie. Once you get past the shoddy exterior, one will discover a fun and enjoyable experience for their children.
The movie starts out alright. Introducing almost all of the cast right from the get-go and immediately presenting the beautiful world of Oriana captures the audience's attention very quickly. In just thirty minutes, the viewer watches a Felix explores a mine, enters another dimension, escapes a giant shark/manta ray monster, travels through a swamp, and gets captured and placed as an attraction for a circus. There's more attention to detail in the first half than in the second half of the movie. Strangely enough, the ringleader Wack has a lot more show time and personality than the main villain himself. The escape from the circus is more thrilling than the final battle against the Duke of Zill.
Sadly, this movie has a very strange case of misplaced climax. Once Wack's circus is destroyed, the movie really seems to slow down. It almost feels like the movie makers were setting up for a very complicated final showdown against the Duke of Zill, only to find out that the deadline they had to meet was a lot sooner than they realized. You watch as Felix builds acquaintances with characters like the Mizzards and Tim, only to see them rendered useless in the later scenes. (Especially with the Mizzards, who disappear into a suitcase and "conveniently" show up five minutes before the credits) Instead of actually fighting the Duke of Zill, Felix throws a book at one of the Duke's strongest robots to "conveniently" destroy the entire army and the Duke of Zill "conveniently" disappears with a "I'll be back". If you look closely, you can even see some animations from the previous act cycled to fill in for lost time.
It's a good movie, but for limited audiences. If you love Felix, by all means, buy the movie for you or for your children. Few people aside from children, people who grew up with the film, or avid fans of Felix will enjoy this movie. Once you get past the shoddy exterior, one will discover a fun and enjoyable experience for their children.